Chapter 3 part 2 Flashcards
physical and cognitive development of children
Piaget
a Swiss psychologist prodigy that did problem-solving experiments with his own children when they were young until they got older
physical development
the body
cognitive development
thinking and remembering
socio-emotional development
relationships with others
why do human infants survive?
we take care of them and they come with reflexes
why do humans nurture baby mammals?
we have a compelling urge to take care of baby mammals because they have specific features
what are the features that make humans want to take care of babies?
they have a giant head compared to other body parts and giant eyes compared to other facial features
reflexes
genetically-wired, involuntary responses that are crucial for infant survival
what happens if an infant can’t do these reflexes?
they won’t survive unless there is medical intervention
why do doctors test for reflexes right after birth?
if the baby can’t do them, there is a neurological problem
rooting
in puppies in kittens, they fight for the mom’s nipple
in infants, when something brushes its cheek, it turns its head and opens its mouth
gripping
will hold something (like your finger) tightly and not let go
toe curling
toes will either curl or spread apart depending on where you stroke the foot
startle
a loud noise / movement and the hands go up (happens to kittens too)
galant
you stroke its back and it will turn its arms that way in a fencing pose
motor development
the gradual development of muscle control, balance and movement
voluntary control
as the baby gets older, the brain forms connections with muscles & then takes control over those muscles to produce voluntary movement
six motor milestones
1) raising the head
2) rolling over
3) propped up
4) sitting up
5) crawling
6) walking
infants develop motor skills from the ______
“head” down
raising the head
neck muscles are 1st
rolling over
arms and upper trunk
propped up
abdomen / core muscles
sitting up
hips / upper thighs
crawling
legs
walking
practice with balance
perceptual development
the gradual development of the senses and the interpretation of sensory information
sense of smell at birth
as good as it is going to get
sense of touch at birth
pretty good, but pains sensation is still developing
sense of hearing at birth
able to hear in the womb and at birth, but don’t respond to pitched sounds as well as higher ones
sense of vision at birth
the worst of the five, can see light but not much else –> will stare at the brightest thing in the room for the first month
why can’t babies see well when they are born?
they have a fixed lens and poorly developed photoreceptors called cones
fixed lens
the lens inside of the eye behind the cornea is controlled by muscles that squeeze and stretch it so we can focus on things that are near or far. since babies don’t have control of their muscles when they are born, and those muscles are voluntary, they cannot squeeze or stretch the lens to focus on things in their vision
cones
in the center of retina and are high threshold –> they help us see color and definition (babies basically see how we do in the dark when they are born)
why do babies love things that are high contrast?
they can see it better
cognitive development
the development of thinking, problem-solving, and memory as we age (basically intellect)
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
schemas, assimilation, accommodation
schemas
skills and behaviors that allow child to interact with objects and others
assimilation
incorporating new information into existing schemas (gaining knowledge by using existing skills)
accommodation
changing a schema to new information (learning a new skill by changing schema)
Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development
1) sensorimotor
2) preoperational
3) concrete operational
4) formal operational
what determines what stage we are in?
how much you can manipulate things in your mind
sensorimotor stage
infants construct an understanding of the world through sensory experiences and motor actions
hallmarks of the sensorimotor stage
development of object permanence, gain pleasure from sensory and motor interactions
when is a person in the sensorimotor stage?
from birth - 2 years old
object permanence
idea that things still exist even when not in view (happens around 8 months) and can conjure it from memory
when do we move onto the next stage?
when we assimilate new information using skills and then we reach a threshold that makes us think in a different way
what is the biggest stage of cognitive development?
preoperational stage
preoperational stage
child develops abilities for symbolic thought and pretend play but not complex, logical thought
when is a child in the preoperational stage?
from 2 -7 years old
hallmarks of the preoperational stage
language development, egocentrism, incapable of reversibility, incapable of conservation
egocentrism
they think about themselves all the time because they are incapable of seeing from someone else’s perspective and believe everyone experiences the world in the same way they do (they start a story in the middle because they assume you were there and experienced the beginning)
what does a child in the preoperational stage use instead of logical thought?
heuristics
heuristics
“rules” learned from experience and a child in the preoperational stage applies them to everything, which makes them make errors
do children in the preoperational stage understand conservation?
no (ex: 2 wide glasses with the same amount of water, and you pour one into a skinny glass that is taller. they will say the skinny glass has more water in it)
concrete operational stage
child uses operations and replaces heuristic strategies with logical reasoning skills in concrete situations
age to be in concrete operational stage
7-11 years old
hallmarks of concrete operational stage
capable of conservation, capable of reversibility, creating mental sets (can organize things based on a rule in their head and physically), not good with hypothetical thinking
formal operational stage
thinking about things that are not concrete, making hypotheses and predictions
formal operational stage ages
11 - adulthood
hallmarks of formal operational stage
capable of hypothetical thinking, speculation regarding the future, capable of abstract thinking
do we spend of time thinking in the formal operational stage?
no, because it is hard
